New York — Handsome Ghost, the hardly definable, “indie prom” band from Massachusetts, has just released their debut EP, Steps via Photo Finish/Republic Records. The six-track project is now available through digital retailers. This follow-up set to 2014′s well received “Blood Stutter” single, takes listeners on a sonic journey along the artistic vantage point of the band’s lead singer, Tim Noyes –a man known for his multi-instrumental skills and unorthodox songwriting.
The titular single from the quintet’s EP was unleashed on the world via Spotify just last week and featured through the streaming platform’s “New Music Tuesday” playlist. The release was met with a flurry of positive reactions almost immediately, the track accruing an excess of 40,000 streams in under a 24-hour timespan and being added to a plethora of user playlists. Just yesterday, Handsome Ghost released a second song for streaming, titled, “We Won’t Sleep.” Listen to the audio via YouTube, below:
What is perhaps one of the most interesting facets to the story of Steps’s development, is the fact that the EP was built on top of a mentality of contrast. Matt Squire (Youngblood Hawke, Arian Grande) sat in the producer’s chair for the project and his production aesthetic, combined with Noyes’s influences resulted in a collective work that breaches sounds and flavors of many genres, instruments and rhythmic structures; situated seamlessly against and Noyes’ artistic execution. The single standout bit of trivia that was implemented among all of this free thinking was the banning of electric guitar use, which – for such a clean and modern sounding record – is quite the impressive restriction to enforce.
In lieu of the music leading up to, and now including, Steps, gaining such highly sought after praise, it is not all that surprising to find Handsome Ghost now traveling for a completely sold out set of shows, in support of MisterWives, for their “Our Own House” tour, which is also keeping the company of BØRNS.
Despite the lack of available tickets for the the rest of the tour, those eager to hear Handsome Ghost in person can still find the opportunities strewn throughout the festivities at SXSW. The band are slated to play at a number of showcases, including Paradigm and PhotoFinish, among others. Full information is below.
Handsome Ghost are expected to release a full-length album later in 2015.
Steps is available now through iTunes, Google Play, streaming on Spotify and other digital retailers.
Handsome Ghost SXSW Schedule:
March 18 – Buffalo Billiards – Paradigm Showcase (10:00-10:30pm)
March 18 – Red Bluff – Day Party (7:05pm-7:45pm)
March 19 – Red River & 6th Street – Photo Finish Party (1:15pm-1:45pm)
“Our Own House” Tour Dates:
March 9 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
March 10 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
March 12 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
March 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
March 14 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
March 21 – Dallas, TX @ HOB Main Room
March 22 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
March 24 – Nashville, TN @ The High Watt
March 25 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage
March 28 – Washington, DC @ U Street
March 31 – New York City, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
April 1 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
April 7 – New York City, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
April 10 – Washington, DC @ U Street
Keep up with Handsome Ghost through their official website and these social media outlets:
Facebook
Twitter (@handsomestghost)
Instagram
Photos of Handsome Ghost by Meredith Truax
